Disclaimer: Still not mine. Am firing elephants. Let the search for new hench animals begin!
A/N: This chapter is rated T for language and violence, which means - fight scenes! Don't have a lot of practice writing those, which basically means that my fight scenes suck. If you care to disagree or offer constructive criticism on fight scene writing, please push the little blue button and leave me a review.
The attempt, however, was made for you, Catz. Consider this chapter dedicated thus.
And yay! Reviews! You guys sure know how to make a gal feel loved, you know that? 'hugs everybody.' Now I feel really bad that it's been more than a month since my last update…if you want to know about the crappy, unproductive month I've had, go to my profile and check out my Livejournal. If not...without further ado…
Repost comment: Well, I decided to go over this story with a fine-tooth comb and repost it all before I get the next bit up. I hope to have a short interlude posted by midnight on the 8th of April, with the next full chapter about a week behind it.
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Sibling Blades: Pride and Joy
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Sesshoumaru veered sharply away from his companion, allowing her to continue to the group of humans. The youkai scent he sought was moving, and at least with the humans she should be able to keep herself out of trouble.
He didn't like this. All around him huts collapsed under the weight of their burning roofs, the harsh scent of the smoke making his nostrils ache.
And woven through it all was the scent of a particular enemy, beckoning him, taunting the most base of his instincts.
Naraku.
Sesshoumaru growled, his hand grasping Tokijin's hilt in preparation. 'Surely the bastard has more sense than this, to so brazenly attack within my own domain?' His eyes narrowed. 'Of course, he does. Naraku never does anything without a reason, no matter how trivial it may be.'
'But what could have led him to make such a foolish decision?'
Sesshoumaru's pace slowed as his enemy's scent grew stronger, fouling the air more than the cloying smoke. He casually entered what had been the main thoroughfare of the small village, his golden eyes warily scanning around him as his nose continued scenting the air.
Something…was not right.
'The half-breed's jyaki…I should be sensing that right now, smelling it, not just that coward's scent.' Sesshoumaru realized, his grip tightening on Tokijin. 'Does this mean…'
"How nice of you to finally join us, Lord Sesshoumaru."
The small hairs on the back of his neck rose as he looked disdainfully over his shoulder, regarding the small human female who had had the nerve to sneak up behind him.
She was short, barely reaching the top of his breastplate. Her head was tilted quizzically to one side, her silver-streaked mahogany hair falling past her elbow to pool with the long lock of silver-tipped black hair tied to her sword's pommel. Her traditional, red-hued, armor was that of a samurai warrior, though it was seldom that Sesshoumaru met a samurai who carried a broadsword made in the Chinese style rather than one of their traditional blades, the katana.
Behind her, a shadow stretched along the ground, though Sesshoumaru was not fooled into believing that the twisting, bubbling mass was a result of her blocking the rising sun. It crept and crawled around the human's feet, twisting and rolling itself like a spoiled cat begging for attention.
Or like an obedient dog that had been called to heel.
Sesshoumaru forced himself still, his dispassionate stare boring into the human's unusually light eyes. Hauntingly familiar eyes…
His own eyes narrowed fractionally as the woman began to chuckle. His head tilted in silent inquiry, even as her chuckles slowed and she waved her left hand in a negligent gesture before allowing it to rest dramatically over her heart.
"It simply is too perfect that you are here, Lord Sesshoumaru." she purred, her free hand playing with the hair decorating her sword's hilt. "Naraku was quite…insistent that you were a foe to be taken seriously."
His head tilted slightly in acknowledgement, even as he refused to verbally acknowledge her words.
"Although," she said bemusedly, her hand rising from her heart to rub her chin, "I do wonder how you will fare when faced against my sharp friend here." Her right hand ceased its stroking gestures and firmly grasped the broadsword's hilt, drawing it in a smooth motion from her sash. A silent pulse, and a cold wind began to emanate from the woman, its chill so slight that it barely registered to Sesshoumaru's heightened senses. His nose wrinkled in disgust. 'Fool. It takes youki to power a youkai blade; youki that a human does not possess. What can she possibly hope to accomplish?'
"Fudomaru." she said coldly, obviously not addressing the youkai before her though her gaze never left him. "Leave us."
The shadow pulled back from her feet, coalescing from its smoky form into that of a giant red oni. The monster curled his upper lip in disgust, his gaze flickering briefly over the human before resting disdainfully on Sesshoumaru.
"Our master did not order you to fight him alone, woman." the oni sneered, his arms crossing in defiance.
A muscle along her jaw jumped in annoyance. "Irrelevant. Your prey is elsewhere, you stupid creature. Seek it out and leave me be."
The giant oni inhaled sharply, gathering breath to lash the human's ears. The woman's head whipped sharply to the side, her gaze boring into the oni's soulless black eyes even as her armor began to writhe around her.
"Remember who you serve, idiot." she hissed, tentacles growing from the shoulders of her armor, obviously itching to wrap around the oni's throat even as he sneered and turned to leave, his spider-marked back exposed to the watching taiyoukai.
'Her armor, that oni…' Sesshoumaru realized in astonishment, 'they are where Naraku's scent is coming from. They are both detachments of Naraku!'
Tokijin seemed to unsheathe itself even as the oni retreated, the deadly blade pointing at the woman before she could turn to fully face him once more.
Her eyebrow raised, the smile on her lips not reaching her cold eyes. "My, my, and we've only just met."
"Who are you?" he asked quietly, calmly, yet commandingly.
The smile on her lips faded as she brandished her own broadsword, her armor's tentacles writhing in obvious annoyance. "Who am I?" she asked mockingly, her sword sweeping up into a blocking position even as a dread-filled wave began to emanate from the curved blade.
"All you need know, Sesshoumaru, is that I am your death!"
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"Miroku," Sango said, her voice resonating oddly from behind her poison mask, her grip tight on Haraikotsu, "do you feel anything?"
Kirara walked steadily ahead of the pair, her tails lashing as her low growls gently broke the silence that permeated the air.
The monk started to shake his head, stopping in mid-motion as Kirara's growls increased in volume.
"I sense both youki and jyaki." His brow furrowed in concentration, his staff held out in front of him almost, but not quite, like a dowsing rod. His mouth turned down in a frown. "Unfortunately, it is coming from two different directions."
"Two youkai, then?" Sango said, hoisting Haraikotsu higher on her back.
The monk nodded solemnly, his gaze meeting the calm, determined eyes of his companion. "At the very least. It would seem that we have a choice, my dear Sango. Do we split up, or do we choose one target?"
Thunder rolled in the skies even as Sango sighed, her breath whistling through her mask. "You know, this is one of those days I wish we would have waited for Inu Yasha and Kagome."
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Amy stared up at the oni's lecherous face, his hot breath making her skin twitch even as she tried to force herself to remain still. 'Anger is a warrior's greatest enemy, followed only by fear.' she reminded herself grimly, her fingers tight around Kietsu's hilt.
She'd left her a memento at their last meeting, Ingrid had, though she had done so unknowingly.
Buried deep in the wound in Amy's back had been a single broken sliver from Jiman's blade. A single sliver that she had had melted down and combined with one of her own fangs, then forged into her own diminutive, but highly effective, weapon.
'Though,' she reflected, scenting the air, 'on second thought, maybe I better not waste it on this shit head.'
Storm clouds began building on the horizon, lightning crackling through the sky. She slid Kietsu back in its sheath, and could not hold back a small smile.
The oni fought the urge to step backward at the sight of that eerie smile. He had nothing to fear – he had been created with the wolf's demise in mind, after all. He sneered down at her as she pushed her dark sleeves up past her elbows, baring the thick leather bracers she wore on her wrists, and fought a feeling of foreboding as she raised one hand, palm up, towards the stormy sky.
Lightning crackled above them, dancing from cloud to rising cloud. Sparks began to fly between the tips of the hanyou's claws, dancing in time with their larger siblings.
"My last opponent?" she practically purred, her voice husky as her eyelids began to droop. "You should learn some humility, Fudomaru."
The sparks between her claws began to thicken, and she brought her other hand up to contain the coalescing ball of energy. "Razing a single village, Fudomaru, does not automatically qualify you as a worthy OPPONENT!" she screamed, jumping into the air and throwing the energy ball directly at his eyes.
As he lifted a hand to swat the ball aside, Amy's foot crashed into his ribs, forcing him to slide back several feet. She bounced backwards, her feet digging twin furrows in the ground as she landed and slid. She glanced behind her, snorting when she saw the unmoving humans.
"Get out of here!" she screamed, turning to face Fudomaru only to see his fist careening towards her. She jumped backwards, dodging every blow he tried to land, before running up his arm and kicking him in the face. As he howled, she back-flipped, hovering in mid-air.
It was there that she made her first mistake.
With her attention caught on the still motionless humans, Fudomaru's right fist finally connected with her abdomen, sending her crashing into the ground.
She slid backwards, her body creating a trench several feet deep in the soft earth. She struggled to stand, barely dodging the open-handed strike Fudomaru aimed at her already damaged midsection. Lightning crashed, Fudomaru barely leaping out of the way of a vengeful bolt. With a snarl, he leaped after the bruised princess, knocking her to the ground with a backhand to her face. With a grin, he pressed his searing hot palm into her midsection as he wrapped his other hand around her throat, gazing with open lust at the pained look that crossed her face.
Her head forced to tilt back, she saw the humans finally get a clue as they started to panic and flee. 'Sheesh, you think they'd have learned that running away from danger was a good thing by now!' she thought sarcastically, forcing a frightened look onto her face, though the stench of her shirt burning away and the growing heat on her throat was making that a simple task.
Savoring the look of fear on the woman's face, Fudomaru couldn't resist leaning closer, forcing his giant knee between her legs as he lowered his mouth to her ear, his breath hot and smelling of burnt bone as it gently caressed her face.
"I told you, princess…" he whispered, "that I would be your last opponent."
'As if,' she thought, disgusted at the unsubtle way he was rubbing his knee against her inner thigh. She gathered her youki tightly within her, letting it build until she could barely keep it from sparking at her claws.
"Fudomaru," she whispered hoarsely, squirming against his burning palms, "go fuck yourself."
As the lightning crashed around them, she slashed at his eyes…and released the youki gathered in her fingertips.
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Jakken took one look at the burning village, and hmphed softly in irritation. 'Foolish humans, when will they learn how to properly defend themselves?'
He sighed. Much as he would have loved to terrorize a few of those wretched beasts himself, his orders were his orders, and it was already past dawn.
No, it was best for him to just skirt the village altogether, and continue making all due haste to his lord's stronghold.
He turned a worried eye to the gathering storm clouds, his concern growing as lightning raced across the sky. 'That,' he thought, 'is most definitely not normal. I should inform Lord Sesshoumaru of this.'
Quickening his pace, Jakken continued on his way without any further glances at the dying village.
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The woman was fast, inhumanly fast. Sesshoumaru, with two slices in the right arm of his haori and one in each leg of his hakama, felt compelled to admit that, even if it was just to himself.
But her speed was her only advantage. Her swordsmanship was poor, almost child-like in its quality. The youki attack that she had attempted to use on him was thwarted almost immediately by one slice of Tokijin, though Sesshoumaru would never forget that first few moments when fear had crept into his heart and bound it with icy fingers.
It had felt…he shook his head, retraining his concentration on his grinning opponent. Never mind what it had felt like. Every time he had pressed her, every time he had used one of Tokijin's attacks, she had managed to dodge his blow, usually landing one on him instead.
His eyes narrowed. Obviously this situation would have to be rectified.
The woman slid one foot forward, returning her sword to a guard position. "My, my, Lord Sesshoumaru. I had expected more of a challenge from you."
A snarl graced his lips, even as he barely kept the growl from leaving his mouth. Lightning crashed in the sky above them, and thunder rolled in its wake.
For a moment, Sesshoumaru thought he saw a flicker of fear in the woman's eyes, though in the next they were once more steeled.
A smirk replaced the snarl upon his lips. It would appear that there was something he could use against his speedy opponent, after all.
As the thunder rolled above them, Sesshoumaru waited patiently for the frozen woman to make her next move.
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"Hurry, Inu Yasha!" Kagome leaned in closer to the hanyou's ear, Shippo shielded between their bodies as Inu Yasha carried them both towards the decimated village.
"Will you be quiet?" he shot back, his steps slowing as his nose started to go nuts. "It's hard enough smelling where they went through all this smoke, I don't need you distracting me, too."
After running into Jakken, Kagome had reluctantly agreed that they probably shouldn't let Miroku and Sango continue on their own. There was no telling who they would run into, and the thought of them meeting Sesshoumaru on a bad day, without Inu Yasha to distract him…Kagome shuddered. 'Nope,' she thought firmly, 'I'm not even going to go there. Besides, they have more sense than to get in his way, right? Right?'
Kagome fretted quietly on Inu Yasha's back, her pep talk somehow not succeeding in reassuring her that their friends wouldn't do anything stupid.
A sharp ping resonated somewhere in her soul, jerking her head up. "Inu Yasha!" she yelled over the rising wind.
"What? I thought I told you to be quiet!" he yelled back, one fuzzy ear swiveling in her direction.
Kagome fought down the temptation to grab his ear, just to make sure that his attention didn't go anywhere. "I sense a Shikon shard!" She pointed dutifully to the northeast, her arm a clear beacon. "That way!"
"Shit!" Inu Yasha exclaimed, changing his direction, picking up his pace even as his nose wrinkled in disgust.
"What?" she yelled, even as Shippo buried himself deeper into Inu Yasha's hair.
Even without seeing his face, Kagome could tell her companion's lips had flattened.
"I smell Sesshoumaru." A low growl broke from his throat. "And, it's faint, but I also smell Naraku! What the hell does Sesshoumaru think he's doing, fighting that bastard when he knows that I'm the one that's gonna kill him!"
Kagome just shook her head as Inu Yasha ranted, and clutched him tighter as his pace increased from running to flying.
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"Miroku, remind me again why we decided to go this way?" Sango shouted over the rising wind, the near-continuous light show in the sky making it difficult for her companion to hear her.
"Because the largest amount of youki is this way!" he shouted back, the rings of his staff jangling insanely as he tightened his grip on Sango, Kirara whipping and dodging around the remains of the burning village as the rising wind caused already unstable buildings to topple into their path.
With a hard shove against the ground, the fire cat rose into the air, steadily making her way in the direction Miroku had appointed. 'Though,' Miroku mused silently as Kirara barely dodged a hissing lighting bolt, 'I'm not sure which is more hazardous right now – the fire on the ground, or the fire in the sky.'
Miroku stiffened as the youki in the air spiked. "Sango!" he cried over the wind, leaning even closer into his lovely companion. "I think we should hurry!"
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The oni shrieked as her claws sank into his left eye, her lightning claw attack cauterizing even his molten flesh as it ripped open and spilled around her fingers.
Amy grunted as she tore her claws from his face, and pulled her legs up and together to kick viciously at the distracted oni's chest.
'Teach him for ruining one of my favorite shirts. Jack ass!' she thought gleefully as he was forced off of her, his shrieking growing louder as he hit his back and she hit her feet.
Amy warily resumed a ready stance, lightning backlighting the sky as she watched the oni roll in agony. 'Damn,' she thought warily, 'I need to finish him off before he starts to recover. But where the hell do you land a killing blow on a fire oni?'
With a flick of her wrist, Kietsu was unsheathed, its sharp edge gleaming in the cloud-obscured light.
'Shit. I really thought I wouldn't have to waste Kietsu on him.' she thought in disgust, one eye watching the lightning that danced in sympathy with her flaring aura. 'But my youki isn't fully recovered yet – if I keep using it up like this, I'll be exhausted in no time!'
She stalked warily towards the writhing oni, looking for a weak spot, any weak spot, to strike at.
"Woman…" She froze at the strangled sound that escaped her opponent's lips, taking a step backwards as he rose to his feet.
"You bastard! Aren't you dead yet?" she said with false bravery, forcing her feet to stay still.
Fudomaru growled, his fists bursting into flame, his remaining eye gleaming with hatred as the ruins of the other trailed gruesome tears down his cheek.
Amy sank back into a ready stance, Kietsu in a guarded position along her arm.
"So…that would be a 'no'."
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Sesshoumaru stiffened as a familiar, and entirely unwelcome, scent entered the air. 'Damnit.' he cursed internally. 'What is that idiot doing here?'
"Sesshoumaru!" the annoying voice screamed out behind him.
"Inu Yasha." he replied calmly, keeping his irritation to himself. "Go away."
He barely suppressed an exasperated sigh as he heard the familiar sound of Tetsusaiga clearing its sheath.
"Keh! Who are you fighting, Sesshoumaru, and why does she smell like Naraku?"
His opponent tilted her head, the unexpected arrival shaking her out of her frozen state. "My, my, aren't you a curious puppy."
Sesshoumaru was tempted to snicker as he caught the outrage in his half-brother's scent.
"Inu Yasha…" Sesshoumaru's ears flicked as he heard his brother's companion speak up softly. "That woman has a Shikon shard in the hollow of her throat."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. 'A Shikon shard and youkai armor? No wonder she moves so quickly, yet fights so poorly.'
"Keh!" Inu Yasha exclaimed, waves of youki beginning to swirl around Tetsusaiga's blade. "Not for long!"
The woman narrowed her eyes, quickly grabbing a pouch from her belt. "It would seem that you all have me outnumbered. Another time, perhaps?"
"What?" his idiot brother exclaimed as the woman threw the pouch to the ground, a rising cloud of smoke obscuring her form.
Sesshoumaru grunted as the dust settled, revealing an empty spot where the woman had been. 'But who was she, what is she to Naraku, and why did she have a Shikon shard?' he wondered.
Tensaiga suddenly pulsed at Sesshoumaru's hip, pulling him out of his musing. 'Tensaiga…why?' A sharp scent invaded the air, slyly sneaking in amongst the smoke. Sesshoumaru inhaled deeply, sheathing Tokijin as he analyzed the wind. 'Burnt flesh, and fresh blood. But why…the half-breed!' he realized quickly, cursing to himself. 'Idiot, I told her to leave the youkai that did this to me. What the hell was she thinking?'
He leaped into a run, barely hearing his brother's outraged cry as Sesshoumaru left him behind.
"Hey! Sesshoumaru, you bastard, where the hell are you going!" Inu Yasha screamed.
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When Miroku and Sango came upon the two opponents, they weren't sure who to attack.
The auburn-haired female appeared to be holding her own against the one-eyed oni, even though her clothing was torn and she sported several burns upon her bared flesh.
Their first clue that she wasn't quite human came when a sparking glow enveloped the dagger clutched in her right hand.
Their second clue came when the oni tried to punch her in the face and she leapt seven feet straight up to avoid his fist, the glowing blade of her dagger lashing out at his remaining eye.
"Umm, Miroku?" Sango said, Hiraikotsu lying almost limply along her back.
"Yes, Sango?" the monk replied distractedly, wincing as the oni managed to slap the woman out of the air before her own blow landed.
"Why am I getting the feeling that we really should have waited for Inu Yasha and Kagome?"
As the two pondered the situation in front of them, the oni shrieked as the woman viciously stomped on his foot.
"Oh for Pete's Sweet Sake, Fudomaru, you slaughtered an entire village and now you can't even manage one little mutt?" a disgruntled voice cut into the monk and youkai slayer's silent contemplation, their heads jerking up as a woman appeared from a cloud of smoke at the edge of the clearing.
Amy's nose went nuts as Kietsu gave off a warning pulse in her hand. She leapt into the air, delivering a kick directly to the distracted oni's chin. As he toppled, exhausted, to the ground, she turned to coolly regard the latest intruder even as her pulse raced in fear.
"That would be a 'no'." she said calmly. "I'm surprised that you've finally shown yourself…Ingrid."
The intruder laughed, the sword at her side seemingly unsheathing itself. "Is that any way to address your dear old grandmother, young woman?" she said mockingly.
The hanyou growled, sinking into a Cat stance with her dagger once more in its guarding position, sharpened edge facing out, along her forearm. "Don't you dare try to call yourself my 'dear old' anything, you fucking bitch."
The intruder sighed. "Well, you certainly didn't learn that sort of language from my side of the family." She hefted the sword in her hand, resting its tip on her shoulder as she shook her head sadly. "You must have learned it from that half-brother of yours." She raised her face, an evil smile gracing her lips. "I can only hope that you didn't learn to fight from him, too."
The hanyou's growls sharpened as her eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare insult Aniki, not when you still wield his stolen sword!"
The intruder laughed, the shrill sound cutting the air like a thousand dulled knives.
"Oh? You mean this old thing?" Ingrid held Jiman out in front of her as though she were examining it for the first time, then gave a careless shrug. "Hmm…" she sighed, her eyes resting on her granddaughter's bristling form. "It has its uses…which is more than I can say for your late sibling!"
She leapt into a run, charging the hanyou, slashing at the ground where the hanyou stood. The hanyou barely managed to dodge her first slash by leaping into the air, the dagger in her hand blocking the broadsword on its upsweep as Amy flipped in midair to land behind Ingrid's back.
Stilled by shock, Sango and Miroku stayed glued to their front-row seats on Kirara's back.
"Umm…" Sango said. "Should we…"
Miroku shook his head, his eyes never leaving the fighting females. "No…I don't think we should."
A small cough sounded just behind them, Kirara whirling around to face the frightened-looking woman and child that had approached them from behind.
"Pardon us, sir monk, lady exterminator." The woman bowed deeply, the child half-hidden behind her. "Won't you please help the lady healer?"
"Lady healer?" the two echoed, Miroku gazing back at the fighting females as Sango looked in confusion at the bowing woman. 'The hanyou is holding her own,' he thought grimly as the two's blades locked, 'but barely. She is clearly exhausted.'
"The young woman, Lady Amaya." The woman clarified, straightening from her bow. "She saved my husband's life, and when the oni came back, she distracted him long enough for my husband's parents to hide him."
A sharp cry lanced the air, and all turned back to see Ingrid grinning madly as Jiman's blade bit deeply into Amaya's shoulder.
"Teach you to respect your elders, young lady!" the woman sneered, cruelly pulling her sword out of her young opponent. Her head jerked sharply towards the group of humans as Sango and Miroku leapt off of Kirara, her eyes narrowing as the two began to run towards them.
"Fudomaru." she snapped coldly. The oni groaned, pulled out of unconsciousness by Ingrid's harsh voice. He stumbled to his feet, blearily regarding the woman in front of him with his remaining eye.
She snorted in disgust. "We have company. Make yourself useful, will you?"
The oni growled at her even as he turned to attack the approaching humans. Sango threw Haraikotsu with all her might, drawing her katana even as Fudomaru knocked the giant boomerang out of the air. Ofuda seemed to magically appear in the monk's hand only to fly towards Fudomaru the next moment.
Ingrid's attention was drawn back to the chuckling young woman at her feet. "What the hell are you laughing at?" she sneered.
"That." Amaya said calmly as a sword magically blossomed in the center of Ingrid's chest, only to be drawn back out as the woman gasped and dropped to her knees.
"We," Sesshoumaru said coldly, flicking Tokijin's blood-covered blade behind him, "were not finished."
"Shiiit." The woman gasped, looking behind her. One glance was enough. Her oni was covered in ofuda, and was one step away from death. She had one enemy behind her, another in front, and nowhere to run. She reached for another smoke pouch.
"Fudomaru!" she yelled out, throwing the pouch to the ground. "Do your best!"
"What?" the oni screamed, watching the woman disappear even as the taiyoukai and the wounded hanyou both jumped to tackle her.
As the smoke dispersed on the wind Sesshoumaru glanced down at the hanyou, whom he was now not only pinning to the ground, but who was also managing to slowly bleed all over him.
And, he noticed in irritation, she was making his heirloom sword go nuts.
"That," Amy said furiously, struggling to ignore the frantic pulses from Tensaiga and get out from underneath Sesshoumaru, "is the second time that bitch has stabbed me with my brother's sword, and ran."
"Then perhaps," Sesshoumaru said calmly, propping himself up, "you should try not letting her get away next time."
Amy growled, locking her eyes with Sesshoumaru's as she tried to ignore the fact that Tensaiga's energy pulses were making her chi practically purr in contentment. "I didn't see you actually stopping her, oh high and mighty Lord Sesshoumaru!"
'That might have been a mistake,' a very small voice in Amy's head whispered as Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed red.
"If I were you," Sesshoumaru said very, very softly, through teeth that seemed much, much sharper, "I would think long and hard before making a comment like that to someone like me."
'Where the hell does this guy get off, saying something like that!' a not-so-small, not-so-smart voice whispered as Amy's growl deepened and her stare intensified.
"Umm, Lord Sesshoumaru? Princess Amaya? If it's not too much to ask, could you two stop embracing long enough to get out of the way?" Miroku yelled as the oni burnt all his ofuda to ash.
They both turned to glare at him. "We are not 'embracing'!" they both yelled.
Miroku shrugged, turning before they could see the sweat roll down his face. 'Really, for them to be in such a friendly position, how was I to assume otherwise?'
Sesshoumaru started to lift himself off of Amaya, until part of what the monk had said clicked in his brain. "Princess Amaya?" he inquired, one eyebrow raised.
Amy growled. "A technicality. I prefer 'Lady'."
Sesshoumaru shook his head, and with the barest of effort was on his feet.
Amy waited for a heartbeat before picking herself up off the ground, wincing as her injured muscles twinged in protest. 'Well, you weren't expecting him to offer to help you up, were you? Though it would have been the mannerly thing to do.' she thought, disgruntled, as she looked at Lord Sesshoumaru.
"I thought I told you to leave the intruder to me." He said quietly, watching the monk and exterminator play with the injured oni. He had wondered why the monk simply did not use his Kazaana, then realized at the monk's request that not only would they be in the void's path, the humans the hanyou had tended to were still hanging around. 'Fools. Hindering the ones who would aid them…'
"Yes, well," Amy huffed, her eyes also on the ongoing fight, "you didn't say anything about what to do if he attacked me. And he did. Attack me, that is."
Sesshoumaru tilted his head towards her. "Is that so?"
Amy huffed again, crossing her arms, wincing as the skin around her shoulder wound pulled. "Of course, that's so! Besides," she sniffed as the exterminator scored a direct head-shot with her boomerang, "he has some of the worst manners I've ever seen. I'd've been tempted to beat him up just for that."
Sesshoumaru snorted.
"Hey, is it just me, or is he getting closer to those two females?" Amy said suddenly, raising a hand to block the sun from her eyes.
"Umm, maybe we should…" Amy didn't get to finish the sentence before the oni lunged and grabbed the small girl. "Shit!"
Sesshoumaru was startled to find himself suddenly alone, the hanyou a blur as she ran towards the oni. The little girl screamed as the oni began to squeeze, laughing at the humans who had frozen in horror.
"Stupid humans." Fudomaru sneered, tightening his grip until the child passed out. "You should have sucked me up when you had the chance, monk."
'Sucked him up?' Amy thought as she ran. 'What the hell?'
"Hey!" she screamed at the oni. "Put her down, asshole!"
The oni laughed, quick and sharp. "Make me."
Amy smiled grimly, Kietsu already out and sparking with barely contained energy. She ran toward the oni, the pain from her wounds seeming to disappear as the adrenaline rush from Hell overtook her body.
"Fine!" she screamed, not slowing her rush until she was upon the oni, barely dodging the hand that came flying at her, leaping at his face…
And slashing down at his remaining eye, grinning madly as Kietsu sank to the bone. The oni roared, his hand opening and dropping the little girl even as Amy yanked Kietsu back out.
"Bitch!" the oni screamed, his hand slapping her out of midair even as she tugged her weapon from his flesh. Grabbing a hold of her shirt, he whipped her back and slammed her into the ground, grinning as her bones made audible noises beneath his palm.
Roaring, blinded and furious, Fudomaru failed to sense the danger stalking up behind him until Tokijin snaked out and separated his head from his neck.
"Yuck!" Amy yelled as Fudomaru's blood sprayed everywhere. "Not that I'm unhappy he's dead, mind you, but…yuck!"
Sesshoumaru grunted, flicking the blood from Tokijin's blade before re-sheathing it.
"Shit," Amy hissed, painfully drawing in a breath as she managed to wriggle free of the dead oni's grip, 'I think that last hit broke something." She winced as she raised a hand to her bruised ribs, carefully checking them over. 'Damn, those two are cracked. I'll be lucky if everything heals before sunset. Damn those two!' she thought, pissed off.
She started to struggle to her feet, only to find herself scooped up by a very strong arm. 'Huh?' she thought in confusion, before she realized that the fluffy white chest she was cuddled up to was Sesshoumaru's and that the soothing energy enveloping her was coming from Tensaiga.
"Your injuries were avoidable." the taiyoukai said grimly, his mouth turned down in a ferocious frown. "You should not have attacked him."
"And what did you expect me to do?" she retorted, uncomfortable with the possessive way he was holding her. "I couldn't just let him kill her!"
"Did you doubt that I would kill him before that happened?" Sesshoumaru growled, the anger in his voice making Amy want to curl in on herself.
"Erm, well…" she muttered, turning her face away from him. "I didn't think you'd want to involve yourself."
Sesshoumaru suddenly became acutely aware of the human audience they were entertaining. He huffed, pulling Amy closer and turning on his heel. "He intruded upon my lands." he said quietly. "For that, this Sesshoumaru would have taken his life."
Amy tactfully decided not to point out that not even a few hours ago, he'd been willing to ignore another youkai's presence in his domain so long as it was only attacking humans. 'Sheesh, how often does this guy change his mind, anyway?' she thought, trying to suppress a yawn. She was suddenly so very, very tired…
"Umm, Lord Sesshoumaru?" the monk piped up.
Sesshoumaru paused, looking over his shoulder at his brother's companion. The monk straightened, planting his staff firmly in the ground. "It would seem that the princess's grandmother is working with Naraku. What is going on?"
'Grandmother?' Sesshoumaru thought in confusion, glancing down at the blushing hanyou he held. 'Who is he…oh.' A look of consternation briefly crossed his face before he resumed his calm expression. It all made sense now: the Shikon shard, the alliance with Naraku, even the hateful behavior between his opponent and the female currently occupying his arm.
Amy gulped, not missing the 'We will talk about this later' look Sesshoumaru gave her before answering the monk.
"I suspect," he said calmly, "that you will discover that on your own."
"Ah," the monk said carefully, "there is also the matter of Kouga…"
"And the wolf would concern me…why?" Sesshoumaru said calmly, the look on his face clearly saying that he didn't consider Kouga to be of any importance.
"Ah, well, you see…" the monk tried quickly to find the right words, "he feels responsible for the princess's safety …"
Sesshoumaru hmphed, turning once more to stroll away from the humans. "The princess is traveling with this Sesshoumaru. That is all the wolf needs to know." His voice faded as white light enveloped both him and his cargo, obscuring them until only a luminescent ball of energy remained.
The monk sighed, his body relaxing as the youkai disappeared from view.
"Well," the exterminator said beside him, "that could have been a lot worse."
The monk nodded. "Yes, Sango, it could have."
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Amy winced, burying her face into Sesshoumaru's fluff as the wind seemed to grow teeth around them. "Damn…" she said softly, "I feel like shit."
Sesshoumaru's grip seemed to tighten on her, and she stole a glance up at his face. 'Wow, with his mouth all thinned out like that…he almost looks…worried?' she thought in wonder.
"Sesshoumaru?" she said softly.
"Why didn't you tell me that your clan's enemy was your grandmother?" he said sharply.
Amy winced. "Eh…"
A low growl resonated from Sesshoumaru's throat. "I was embarrassed, okay?" she said sharply. "Happy now?"
"Embarrassed?" he said in surprise. "Why?"
Amy sighed, and snuggled deeper into the fluff. "If you had a grandmother who thought your mother was a whore, and that you were a monster, and then made it her mission after death to slaughter you and your entire family, wouldn't you be a little embarrassed?"
Amy closed her eyes, turning her head downwards. "Ingrid killed my parents when I was really little, you know. I don't really remember them, much …Keiji-aniki, my half-brother, ended up raising me. Hell, if it wasn't for Aniki that bitch would have killed me, too." she said, almost wistfully.
"What happened to him?" Sesshoumaru asked softly.
Amy's face grew still, and she refused to meet Sesshoumaru's eyes. "When our father was killed, Aniki inherited the Talisman of the Moon."
"And it was he who lost his life guarding it?" Sesshoumaru finished.
Amy nodded, grief flicking over her features.
Sesshoumaru's face grew still. Reluctant as he was to interfere, the hanyou would never be able to accomplish her mission were she to lose herself to her emotions.
"So are you just going to continuing feeling sorry for yourself, or are you going to do something about her?" he said sternly.
Amy's head jerked up, fury igniting her eyes. "I am not feeling sorry for myself!"
Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow at her, his expression clearly conveying his disbelief at her statement.
Amy growled. "Of course I'm going to do something about her. I tracked her all the way here, remember?"
"And you failed to find her until she chose to reveal herself." Sesshoumaru pointed out. "By your own admittance, you are running out of time."
"I know that!" she growled, and poked a finger into his chest. "You're not one to talk, you know. How long have you been chasing this Naraku guy without actually killing him, huh?"
'You know, I really should learn to think before I speak…' Amy thought as Sesshoumaru's eyes ignited. 'But on the other hand, it's really fun seeing him show an emotion other than boredom or disdain…'
"That,' Sesshoumaru said icily, barely controlling his twitching claws, "is beside the point."
"Whatever." Amy said flippantly, resuming her snuggling position against his fluff. "I hope the kids are okay…when are we getting to your fortress, anyway? I thought you said that village was right by it!"
Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "It is. And I'm sure the children are fine."
Amy yawned. "Probably. Derek can outrun just about anything when he sets his mind to it."
She twisted a bit in his grip, settling herself more comfortably along his arm. Her hand brushed his sleeve, a frown crossing her face as one of the tears caught in her own claws.
"Hey! You didn't mention that you were hurt!" she exclaimed
Sesshoumaru snorted. "Don't be foolish. This Sesshoumaru is not hurt. My sleeve was merely…a casualty."
"You're sure?" Her concerned eyes met his own, and for a moment, just a moment, Sesshoumaru was lost in the depths of her green orbs.
He quickly shook himself out of it. "You should worry about your own injuries, princess." he said gruffly. "I really must insist that you stop putting yourself in situations like that."
"Oh?" Her eyebrow shot up in amusement. "And why is that?"
"Because you are of no use to me if you are dead." he said stoically, mentally adding 'And Tensaiga has not stopped trying to heal her since I picked her up. There's no telling what it would do if she actually died. Huh, I wonder if she has even noticed that her wounds are now healing much faster than they did the last time I saw her hurt?'
"You've got some nerve, you know that?" Amy growled.
Sesshoumaru regarded her coolly. "Yes?"
"Ooo…" she growled, barely suppressing another yawn despite her irritation.
Sesshoumaru frowned. "You should rest."
Amy nodded. "Probably should, but probably won't." she said sleepily. "Too much to do."
Sesshoumaru snorted. "Not in your current condition. You can barely move as it is."
Amy laughed, a sharp and bitter sound. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I won't do what I have to do. You'd have to lock me up to keep me from going after that bitch the next chance I get."
"Hmm, imprisonment. That would be one way to keep you out of trouble, I suppose." Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully.
Amy jerked upright, one hand flattening against his chest. "You're kidding, right? Not even you would be that much of a jerk!"
His eyebrow rose, but he refused to answer her.
"Sesshoumaru? You are kidding, right? Right?" she said almost desperately.
"Sleep, hanyou." he said finally.
Amy settled down, grumbling. "You had better be joking, Sesshoumaru, or so help me…"
As she finally slipped into unconsciousness, Sesshoumaru allowed a very small, very satisfied smile to cross his face. She feared imprisonment, did she?
What a wonderful threat to keep her out of trouble…
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A/N: Tee-hee, so I suppose you all can guess how the next chapter is going to open...
Make my day. Push the button.
Reviewer Responses:
Catz: See, plenty of fighting. And it was all for you!
Khaos: I hope this was up to your expectations. I really do need more practice writing fights scenes…or a co-author, lol.
Ephona: Thanks, hon. (gives Ephona a big hug)
Sparkle23: Glad to know there are some lurkers out there – I was starting to wonder. Thanks for taking the time to review - I hope this chapter didn't disappoint you!
KuramasDarkAngel: Glad you like, and here's your update – sorry it's kinda late, I'm really trying to keep my updates about three weeks apart.
LSR-7: Always nice to see new names on my review list. I'm glad you're enjoying this – I know I'm having fun writing it! Repost comment: Yeah, fight scenes are hard to write if you don't have any hands-on experience. The only martial art I've studied is Shaolin kung fu, and even then the only forms I really worked with were Tiger and Leopard, and the only weapon I've used extensively is the bo (staff). So most of the fighting techniques I know are extremely hands on, nearly all defensive rather than offensive, and I think that reflects quite a bit when I do have to write a fight scene or five.
Nefertiri: Thanks, hon. I know you've been wondering why it is that Ingrid was able to kill not only her daughter, her daughter's mate (a nearly full-blooded youkai), her daughter's stepson, AND hold her own in a fight with Sesshoumaru. I've really been debating how much is safe to say without spoiling the story. With Amy's parents, Ingrid uses deceit in order to lure them to their deaths. With Keiji and Sesshoumaru…if I told you, it would ruin a twist I have in mind. Sorry!
Sanood: Lol, glad to know you like. Hope this was worth the wait. As you can see, the Inu-tachi did show up. Though, to be honest, I think they're going to end up being more "comic relief" in this story than anything else…I'm having quite a bit of fun concentrating on Amy and Sesshoumaru. And Rin! Who could not love writing about that cute widdle girl?